


i want your midnights

by fauxghost



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Christmas, Comfort, Drunk Texting, First Kiss, Fluff, Humor, M/M, New Years Eve, PINING KEITH, Sharing Clothes, Snowball Fight, cuddling for warmth, they're oblivious and i love them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 17:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17248484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fauxghost/pseuds/fauxghost
Summary: Lance walks up to Keith with the promised sweater balled up in his hands. “For you.”“Great.” Holding up the bright red monstrosity, Keith examines the busy snowflake pattern and the bright green text that reads:Let me be your snowMAN!He blinks, his gaze flicking back up to Lance.“It was either that or ‘jingle my bells’, so,” Lance says, clearing his throat. “Go put it on, mullet.”Keith and Lance celebrate the holidays, and all of the casual touching and soft looks might just drive Keith insane, because hereallywants to kiss him.





	i want your midnights

**Author's Note:**

> a secret santa gift for @wolflonest on twitter!! i love you sm. you mean so much to me and i hope you had an amazing christmas <3
> 
> (fic title from new years day by taylor swift  
> tws: food, alcohol)

“Hey,” Keith calls out to Adam from the couch, who’s doing some last minute cleaning before their guests came over. “Is Lance coming tonight?”

He doesn’t even bother to hold back a smirk. “Why do you ask?”

“I was just wondering.” Keith says defensively, feeling a blush creep up on his cheeks.

Adam raises an eyebrow at that, but doesn’t press him any further. “He got the invite. Why don’t you text him to make sure?”

“Hey, babe–” Shiro says, coming around the corner. He stops and frowns when he sees Adam’s plain flannel shirt. “What are you wearing?”

Keith snorts. The house is covered in Christmas decorations, but Shiro still stands out like an bright green eyesore, with his overly embellished sweater adorned with cartoon gingerbread, snowmen, and glittery snowflakes. Adam gives him a onceover and then lets out something in between a laugh and a sigh. “Oh, Takashi, I thought you were kidding.”

Shiro crosses his arms. “Yours is upstairs.”

“You’re lucky I love you.” The other man huffs. On his way to their room, he calls down, “Tell your brother to stop being a disaster!”

He turns to Keith, questioning him as if he already knows the answer, “Is this about Lance?”

“It’s fine, I just–” Keith lets out a groan, and then resolves to follow Adam’s advice, if for no other reason than to avoid more lecturing. “I’m just going to text him to make sure he’s coming.”

“It’s about time you stopped dancing around your feelings for him.”

“He makes me so – _ugh_ ,” Resolving to hold back from gushing about Lance for once, Keith continues, “I don’t even know how to do that.”

Shiro gives him a soft smile, one he reserves for times when Keith needs it the most. “Just start with a text.”

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

 **Keith** : Hey, are you gonna make it to Adam’s house today?

Lance: why? did u miss me? 😏

 **Keith** : Is that a yes? And I saw you two days ago.

Lance: is that a yes?

 **Keith** : I asked you first.

Lance: I ASKED U SECOND

 **Keith** : Never mind, you’re uninvited.

Lance: HEY

 **Keith** : What :)

Lance: of course i’m coming!! i wouldn’t miss it for the world

Lance: my ugly christmas sweater is going to knock ur mullet off

 **Keith** : I don’t know, Shiro and Adam’s are pretty horrible.

Lance: they really are couple goals damn

Lance: u better be wearing one too or i’m deleting ur number

 **Keith** : WHY

Lance: its tradition!!

 **Keith** : It’s not, actually.

Lance: IT IS NOW, SCROOGE

Lance: i’m bringing u one

 **Keith** : I hate you.

Lance: i know u love me

 **Keith** : >:(

Lance: you have to wear it okay?

 **Keith** : Ugh

 **Keith** : Fine.

Lance: u can never say no to me huh ;)

 **Keith** : It’s because your nagging would be worse than whatever you’re making me wear.

Lance: suuuuure

 

Keith might pretend to be uninterested to antagonize Lance, but in all honesty, he loves the holidays, from the gift giving to the overplayed music, and especially the time he gets to spend with his friends and family. And it’s not like he’s going to pass up wearing Lance’s clothes – even an ugly Christmas sweater.

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

Slowly but surely, the guests arrive, and Keith finds himself anxiously waiting for Lance to come through the door. It had been Shiro’s idea to have all of their friends over for a Christmas celebration before most of them split up to visit their families over winter break. It isn’t anything fancy – Adam baked treats and is planning to brew up his signature mint-flavored hot chocolate, and they decided on a classic movie to watch, but most of all, everyone is just looking forward to spending some time together now that their college finals are over.

Lance is the last one to arrive – dramatically announcing himself as “fashionably late”.

He walks through the door wearing a smug grin and a dark blue sweater, embellished with a Christmas light pattern that actually glows, colors alternating between red and green. Stitched on his chest in a bold, sparkly font are the words “ _Are you Christmas?”_ He displays it proudly, hands on hips, but the others only stare at him, expressions ranging between confusion and amusement.

Romelle speaks first, asking, “What is that supposed to mean?”

He winks at her, turning around to reveal more words on the back: “ _because I want to MERRY you!”_

Everyone groans, but Shiro lets out a hearty laugh. Besides those two and a very grudging Adam, the others aren’t wearing ugly sweaters, although Romelle and Allura are wearing matching reindeer headbands, and Hunk had thrown on a Santa hat. Regardless, Lance walks up to Keith with the promised sweater balled up in his hands. “For you.”

“Great.” Holding up the bright red monstrosity, Keith examines the busy snowflake pattern and the bright green text that reads: _Let me be your snowMAN!_ He blinks, his gaze flicking back up to Lance. Inwardly, he curses the fact that he blushes so easily.  

“It was either that or ‘jingle my bells’, so,” Lance says, clearing his throat. “Go put it on, mullet.”

The sweater is ridiculous, and a little long on Keith, but it’s cozy and it smells like Lance. The gleeful look the other boy gives him when he walks out wearing it makes it more than worth it.

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

It’s a picturesque sight, to see everyone he loves sitting comfortably around the fire, talking and laughing with each other. Still, Keith aches for more warmth, preferably in the form of Lance’s hands wrapped around his. Shiro and Adam are cuddling on the farthest couch, while Romelle and Allura are holding hands, Allura happily resting her head on the other girl’s shoulder. Hunk, Pidge, and Matt are closest to the fire, Hunk animatedly talking about his latest engineering project. In the corner of Keith’s eye, he can see Lance’s light-up Christmas sweater glowing. The boy is sitting only a few inches away from him – too close and too far all at the same time.

A momentary pause in the conversation is interrupted by Lance jumping up and pointing towards the window. “It’s snowing!”

Despite the fact that the ground is already covered in a few inches of snow and Lance has lived in the States for years, his eyes still light up whenever he sees the snow fall. Keith can’t help but smile fondly at the other boy’s enthusiastic expression, and before he can think it over, he blurts out, “Let’s go out there.”

“None of us are exactly dressed for the cold–” Shiro starts.

Lance cuts him off, grinning widely as he starts toward the door, yelling, “Last one there is rotten egg nog!”

(Pidge ends up being the rotten egg nog – she blames her short legs.)

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

They almost look like children rather than college students. Lance immediately launches himself into the snow with no regard for the cold, spreading his arms and legs out to make a snow angel. The others follow suit even though the air is bitter and the snow is freezing, letting the snowflakes freely fall onto their faces and clothes. Keith is suddenly even more grateful to be wearing Lance’s thick Christmas sweater.

They’re all giggling and helping each other up from the ground, but everything goes quiet when a large snowball makes its way to Shiro’s chest.

“Sorry, Shiro!” Lance calls out from across the lawn. “I was trying to hit Keith!”

Keith, already prepared with a snowball of his own, sends it flying towards Lance. It ends up hitting him square in the forehead ( _oops)_. With a breathy laugh and his most confident smirk, he asks, “Like that?”

Lance’s cheeks are already tinted red from the cold, but it almost seems like he’s blushing, which he quickly covers up by grabbing more snow and flinging it Keith’s way. Quickly enough, it turns into a full-on snowball fight, and everyone joins in. Snow flies from all directions, while sounds of laughter and silly taunts drift through the wind.

Allura and Shiro conspire against their significant others, joining forces to bombard Romelle and Adam with endless snowballs. Meanwhile, Hunk and Pidge team up, proving themselves to be an unstoppable force – Pidge making perfectly-shaped snowballs and Hunk sending them flying towards the others, usually aiming at Matt or Lance. Naturally, Keith and Lance target each other. While Lance sends a dazzling grin and another snowball his way, Keith thinks, _this is what Christmas is supposed to feel like._

Eventually they’re all shivering too much to continue. It’s hard to tell who won the battle – Lance insists it was him, and with his aim and general snowball fight experience, it’s likely. At the same time, Allura has a great throwing arm, and she hit everyone too many times to count. Keith is too cold to argue in his own favor. His sweater is soaked and he’s trying to warm his hands to no avail. His gloves are all wet, too. Seeming to notice this, Lance quickly moves closer to him.

“Your hair looks awful.” He reaches out, moving a stray piece away Keith’s face.

“And whose fault is that?” Keith retaliaties, referring to the many times Lance specifically aimed snowballs at his ‘mullet’. He still feels the ghost of Lance’s gentle fingers brushing against his forehead, and he starts to feel self conscious about how red his face must be.

“Yours.” The other boy winks, and then does a double-take. “God, Keith, you’re shivering! C’mere.”

Without another word, Lance wraps his arms around Keith, enveloping him in a tight hug. Even though they’re both soaked, warmth emanates from Lance, and Keith finds himself practically melting under the touch. After a minute, Lance pulls away, but only slightly. He reaches down to grasp Keith’s hands in his own. Their hands seem to fit perfectly together, and Keith is struck by the way it feels. The only word he can think of to describe it is _right._

With an unusually quiet voice, Lance says, “Your hands are tiny.”

“Yours are just abnormally large.” Keith remarks, but there’s no bite to his tone. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Shiro and Adam smiling at him, but he willfully ignores them.

The other boy grins again. “Perfect for warming icy mullets.”

Keith rolls his eyes at that, and they walk back inside, hand in hand.

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

To warm everyone up, Shiro supplies cozy blankets while Adam offers silky hot chocolate with mint flavoring and an abundance of marshmallows. Keith would’ve been satisfied with only Lance’s hands to warm his own, but he can’t resist the sugary drink. It’s silent for a moment, while everyone gratefully chugs the hot chocolate. As if his eyes are drawn there, he glances over at Lance to see that he’s already looking back at him. Lance gives him an uncharacteristically shy smile and then looks away.

Once they all stop shivering, everyone piles in front of the TV for a movie. Lance plops himself next to Keith, holding out a fuzzy blanket. “Still cold?”

“A little.” (The hot chocolate did a pretty good job of warming up him, but Lance doesn’t need to know that.)

Without another word, Lance moves closer to him until their sides are pressed up against each other. After draping the blanket over them, he slowly intertwines their hands together. Having ditched his soaking wet gloves after getting inside, Keith was glad to have his bare palm pressed against Lance’s smooth one. Neither of them say anything, but the silence is comfortable. He sees Lance smiling softly out of the corner of his eye, and his heart flutters. Someone dims the lights and starts the movie, and Lance shuffles a bit, moving even closer.

Shiro and Adam are cuddled on the other couch, and Romelle and Allura are wrapped up together in a pink blanket. Realizing how much he and Lance must look like a couple at the moment, Keith flushes. _Friends can cuddle_ , he reminds himself, with a slight pang in his heart. _That’s all this is._

The movie they picked out is Elf, which most of them have already seen multiple times but find hilarious anyway. Lance laughs loudly at every humorous moment, a captivating sound that Keith could never get tired of. While Buddy and Jovie meet up for their first date, Lance slowly shuffles closer, gently resting his head on Keith’s shoulder. Involuntarily, he stiffens, and Lance looks up at him. “Sorry – is this okay?”

Their faces are only a few inches apart, and Keith’s breath catches. He tries not to stare at Lance’s lips. “Yeah.”

He smiles again. In the background, Frank Sinatra muses, _“You make me feel so young,"_  and the light from the TV screen hits Lance in a way that’s somehow just right.

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

No one wants to move after the film is over – especially not Keith. He and Lance are comfortably intertwined, sleepily resting on each other. At first, he was been hesitant, his heart pounding at Lance’s closeness, and then he starts to relax into the touch. As the end credits roll, Lance quietly hums along to _Walking In A Winter Wonderland_ , and Keith feels so content that he wishes time would freeze for a while.

Feeling similarly, given the soft couches and the heaviness of their eyelids, everyone agrees to turn on another movie. Lance is quiet during the discussion, only adding a mumbled, “I’m not getting up”. His lips are so close to Keith’s neck, which is starting to drive Keith a little crazy.

“I’m a glorified pillow.” He grumbles in response, but he can’t hide his smile.

Lance grins drowsily and replies, “Are you complaining?”

“Not at all,” He says, and Lance _blushes_ , which sends Keith’s heart into a frenzy of uneven beats.

Much to his dismay, Matt is elected to find the remote and put on a new movie. He decides on something called Christmas At The Palace, which sounds like another generic heterosexual Hallmark movie, but Shiro ensures everyone that it’s worth watching, so they settle in for another two hours. He isn’t about to admit it, but Keith would’ve watched the live action Avatar movie on loop if it meant that Lance would keep cuddling with him.

Just as he’s starting to get emotionally invested in Katie and Alexander's fates, Keith glances down at Lance to find that he’s fallen asleep. They’re still holding hands, and Lance’s head rests comfortably against Keith’s shoulder, his eyelashes fluttering as he sleeps. He’s missing the climax of the movie, but he looks so peaceful that Keith decides not to wake him. Before willing himself to look away, Keith stares at him for another few seconds, committing the moment to memory.

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

“I can’t believe you didn’t wake me up.”

“I can’t believe you fell asleep.”  Keith counters, speaking with a mouth full of sugar cookie.

Lance glowers at him, but quickly turns his attention his own cookie. It’s getting late, and everyone has gone home except for Lance. He doesn’t seem to be planning on leaving any time soon. Currently, he’s focused on intricately painting his cookie with frosting. After a few moments, he presents it to Keith. “Look, it’s you!”

He had attempted to give the gingerbread-shaped cookie a mullet and a crop jacket, using only thick pink frosting. “A masterpiece,” Keith deadpans.

“I’m skilled like that.” Lance says, giving his signature wink.

Despite the countless times he’s seen Lance wink, Keith has to actively force himself not to get flustered. Raising an eyebrow, he asks, “You’re going to eat me?”

“Great, now I feel weird about it.”

Keith snorts, which makes Lance bite the cookie’s head off in retaliation. “Ha.”

He rolls his eyes, finishing off his own cookie. “How long will you be in Cuba?”

To his surprise, Lance lets out a defeated sigh. “Not long enough. I’ll be home on the 30th – it was the cheapest flight I could find before the semester starts.”

“You’re leaving tomorrow, right? That’s still ten days.”

“Yeah. I wish I could stay longer, though.” His voice sounds even as he reaches for another sugar cookie, but his expression is sorrowful.

“Do you have plans for New Years Eve?” Keith asks before he loses the nerve, continuing with hesitantly, “Maybe I can cheer you up that night?”

Lance smiles at that, but doesn’t give an answer right away. “Will there be more cookies?”

“If you want.” He says, making a mental note to bake multiple batches.

“I’m kidding,” Lance says, wearing a grin brighter than his glow-up sweater. “I’d love to.”

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

Christmas comes and goes.

Ever since Shiro took him in, Keith has had infinitely better holidays than the ones he spent in orphanages and foster homes. Shiro always go out of his way to make it special, and ever since he started dating Adam, they’ve both made sure Keith never feels like he’s intruding. He’s grown used to Adam’s last minute shopping frenzy, Shiro’s insistence on decorating every inch of the house, and the warmth that comes with knowing you have a family to wake up to on Christmas morning. He loves every second of it.

Still, when the Christmas lights are turned off and the snow falls on their quiet neighborhood, Keith feels like something is missing. _Or someone,_ he thinks, glancing at his phone. He hasn’t talked to Lance since he left for Cuba, not wanting to interrupt the other boy’s family time. His heart aches with Lance’s absence, but he remembers the way it felt to hold his hand and lean against him. He remembers Lance’s wide smile when he returned the Christmas sweater at the end of the day, his bashful _“Thanks for wearing it”,_ and Keith falls asleep feeling warm.

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

A night later, Keith is about to drift off to sleep when his phone buzzes. It’s a text from Lance.

 

Lance: keeeeeeeith

 **Keith** : Laaaaaaaance

Lance: i miss u

 **Keith** : I miss you too. How was your Christmas?

Lance: really good. i missed myfamily a lot

Lance: wbu

 **Keith** : It was great! What are you doing rn?

Lance: RUNGIGN

Lance: FCUK

 **Keith** : What?

Lance: Oh Keith 😍😍😍

Lance: Ur eyes are sooooo pretty

 

He blinks at his phone. The thought of Lance thinking he has pretty eyes makes him more flustered than he’d like to admit, but realistically, Keith knows it must be some kind of joke.

 

 **Keith** : ...What?

Lance: I loooove ur mullet I’ll never fucking shut up about itjtklfjd

 **Keith** : Are you drunk or something?

Lance: THT WASNT ME VERONICA STOLE MY PHONE

Lance: we’re both drnk actually

 **Keith** : If Veronica thinks my eyes are so pretty, why can’t she text me herself?

Lance: SKDFLSF UR BOTH GAY STOP

Lance: she was pretendign to be me duh

 **Keith** : Is that so? ;)

Lance: stop it u cant be smooth this is agsint the laws of nature

 **Keith** : Lmao how much have you had to drink?

Lance: enough

 **Keith** : Clearly.

Lance: ANYWAY are we still on for new years eve

 **Keith** : Yeah, if you want.

Lance: i do

Lance: want

 **Keith** : Cool. Shiro and Adam are going out that night, so we’ll have the house to ourselves.

Lance: PARTY

 **Keith** : No.

Lance: ur boring!!

 **Keith** : Can you give your phone back to Veronica? She’s nicer

Lance: the AUDACITY

 **Keith** : Kidding. I missed talking to you

Lance: awww wtf

Lance: u make mE CRY

Lance: 😊💕💘😊💗💓💖😊💕💝💓😊💕💓💗😊💖

 **Keith** : LANCE DON’T CRY

Lance: npt really but ur so sweet

Lance: i hsve to ask u an important question

 **Keith** : What is it?

Lance: u cant laugh at me j

 **Keith:**...Okay

Lance: promsie u won t

 **Keith** : I promise. What is it?

Lance: will u be my new years kiss?

 

It’s been ten minutes since he got the text, and Keith is still staring at his screen, heart racing. He wonders if Veronica stole Lance’s phone again, but by now he would’ve taken it back and given another panicked explanation. Keith isn’t blind to the way Lance looked at him before he left for Cuba – and everyone noticed the two of them being affectionate with each other during the movies, but it’s still hard for him to believe that Lance actually returns his feelings.

Especially when Keith’s feelings are long past a small crush, so deep and encompassing that even he’s afraid of how far they go.

Especially when Lance is very drunk, possibly lonely, and definitely not thinking things through.

 

 **Keith** : You must be really drunk rn

Lance: ill be yours if youll be mine

 **Keith** : That’s how kissing works, Lance.

Lance: IM DRINK

 **Keith** : I’m aware.

Lance: verONCISFDSF

Lance: GSTOP

Lance: shes tried to take me phone agian

Lance: wont let her

 **Keith** : Maybe you should get some sleep? It’s really late there.

Lance: too energizdd

 **Keith** : At least drink some water, yeah?

Lance: ok

Lance: only for u 😊💦

Lance: second emojo was an accident

 **Keith** : 💦💦💦

Lance: SOTP

 **Keith** : 💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦

Lance: imblocking ur number

 **Keith** : You wouldn’t.

Lance: DON'T TEST ME

 **Keith** : 💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦💦

Lance: Messjgge not received. Please try again

 **Keith** : If you want to sound convincing you might want to avoid typos.

Lance: ok i csnt block i wont have anyone elsee to make fun of :(

 **Keith** : What a shame.

Lance: i know rirhgtt :(

 **Keith** : Your typos are getting terrible

Lance: atlest im not a sappy drunk like u

 **Keith** : I told you I missed you and you said you were crying...

Lance: SHTU UP!

 

Although Lance’s _considerably_ sappy text about a New Year’s kiss is still repeating in the back of his mind, Keith can’t help but grin at how easy it is for them to fall back into their regular patterns. _I miss him_. He realizes it with such force that suddenly the distance between them seems all too much – they’ll be reunited in a few days, but Keith aches to see his smile again, to hear his melodic laughter. Just as he’s about to suggest a video call, he gets another text from Lance.

 

 _Lance_ : im sleep

 **Keith** : You’re sleep?

Lance: tired nwo

 **Keith** : Drink some water before going to bed, okay?

Lance: i will

Lance: u hshould sleep too

 **Keith** : I will if you will.

Lance: deal

Lance: sweet dreasms

 **Keith** : Goodnight, Lance.

Lance: gn keith 💙

 

He deliberates for a few seconds, curses himself for getting so overly analytical about heart emojis, and then deliberates for another minute. In the end, he caves.

 

 **Keith** : ❤️

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

If Lance remembers the text conversation, he doesn’t mention it as he finalizes their plans to meet up on New Year’s Eve. As for Keith, he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it. He wonders if Lance actually wanted to kiss him, or just to kiss _someone,_ or if he didn’t mean it at all. Shiro and Adam have already left for their date night, and Keith is anxiously waiting for Lance to come over. He tries to clear his mind and focus on what’s actually important – his goal to cheer Lance up since he can’t spend New Year’s with his family.

There’s still a few hours until midnight, but a party has already started next door, with booming music and laughter that carries through the neighborhood. It makes Keith wonder if he should have invited more people over, or at least planned something more extravagant than just hanging out. He wasn’t sure what Lance would want, and honestly, after the drunk conversation,  he was a little afraid to text him, worried that Lance might avoid him altogether.

When he finally opens to the door to see Lance standing underneath the porchlight, it’s a welcome sight. He looks tired, but stunning nonetheless, with his usual smirk and warm fondness in his eyes. There are a few snowflakes caught in his wind-swept hair. Keith resists the urge to brush them away. It’s so cold outside that his breath is visible as he lets out an excited laugh and wraps Keith up in a tight hug. “Hey.”

“Hey, Lance.” He allows himself to melt into the hug for a moment, and then pulls back. “Come on in, it’s freezing out here.”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” Lance brags, but still hurries inside and accepts the blanket that Keith shoves at him, wrapping it around his shoulders.

A man of his word, Keith directs Lance toward the assortment of freshly baked sugar cookies on the counter – still warm. (He made sure to time it just right and miraculously didn’t end up burning anything, even without Adam’s help.) “Holy shit, Keith,” The other boy’s smile is practically blinding. “You’re the best.”

“I know.”

Lance rolls his eyes at that, but his smile doesn’t fade. He absentmindedly licks his lips while choosing a cookie, and Keith gets distracted on his way to the fridge, somehow managing to trip over his own feet. He braces himself on the counter to avoid completely wiping out, but his cheeks are burning at how stupid he must’ve looked, made worse by Lance’s cackling. “That was smooth, dude. Are you okay?”

“Yeah – fine,” Keith stammers as he grabs the frosting and pushes it over to him. “I’m good. How was the flight?”

“ _L_ _ong_ ,” Lance complains while covering his tree-shaped cookie in green frosting. “Loud.”

“Loud?”

“Crying babies. Chatty old people. The works.”

“Mm,” Still determined to put Lance in a good mood, Keith says, “Well, good thing you had sugar cookies waiting for you.”

“Good thing.” Lance agrees, but he looks vaguely upset, his eyes downcast. “Thanks for inviting me over, by the way. I would’ve been miserable if I had to spend tonight alone.”

“Of course.”

The other boy wears a distant expression, and the music from the party next door almost drowns out his voice as he says, “It’s crazy how you can spend only a few days away from someone, and already miss them like hell.”

“Yeah,” Keith nods, thinking of the way he felt over the holidays, missing Lance even though he was only a text away. Pushing that thought of his head, he focuses on what Lance is actually talking about. “I bet they miss you too.”

“Oh, I _know_ they do,” He says, grinning even though sadness in his eyes doesn’t falter. “I’m the life of the party.”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “Really?”

“You doubt me?” Lance fakes a dramatic gasp, and starts to look more high-spirited as he grabs another cookie and says, “I _need_ to tell you about the time I played ten pranks in one night and successfully blamed them all on Rachel. Or how about when I dressed up as Santa for my brother’s kids and accidentally ended up in a parade on national television?”

“ _W_ _hat?_ ”

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

They’re cuddling again.

Keith isn’t even sure how they ended up in this position, but at some point they had finished off all of the sugar cookies they could handle and moved over to the couch as Lance told endless stories from his adventures with the McClain-Acosta’s. This time they’re laying across the couch, facing each other, close enough that Keith can smell sugar and peppermint on Lance’s breath. With a blanket draped over them and Lance distractedly messing with Keith’s shirt collar – his other hand resting on his chest – and their legs tangled together, Keith feels comfortable and nervous all at once.

Despite how much he’s been talking about his family, Lance doesn’t seem to be sad anymore, his eyes lighting up whenever Keith chuckles at one of his over-the-top stories. Keith chimes in too, telling him about how Shiro almost burned down the house trying to make Christmas Eve dinner, which makes Lance laugh so hard that he tears up.

Eventually, the conversation dwindles as they both start to feel sleepy. Keith imagines that it’s nearing closer to midnight, but he doesn’t have any desire to get up and check the time. The sounds from outside the house feel far away, the heavy beat of the music like a distant heartbeat. Lance looks thoughtful, breaking the silence with the last thing Keith thought he would say: “Do you remember our texts? From the other night?”

It takes Keith a few seconds to come up with a reply. “I’m… surprised you remember.”

“I wasn’t _that_ drunk.”

“ _Sure_ ,” Keith says, with heavy sarcasm in his tone. He continues, sounding a lot more hesitant, “Um, so – why do you ask?”

Lance doesn’t beat around the bush, looking into his eyes with an unreadable expression. “I told you I wanted to kiss you.”

Everything falls silent. He must be waiting for some kind of response, but Keith can’t seem to remember the English language. His heart is pounding so fast that the other boy definitely notices, feeling it where his hand rests against his chest. After what feels like forever, Keith breathes out, “Yeah.”

“I just – I felt like I should–” Lance swallows thickly. “Apologize. I mean, if I made you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t; I–” _I want to kiss you_ , Keith thinks, but he can’t say it. “I figured it was just, you know… a joke.”

Lance looks surprisingly dejected at that. “Right.”

Mustering his courage, Keith holds his breath and asks, “Was it?”

Loud, excited chanting from next door interrupts whatever Lance is about to say. It grows louder every second, and after a moment, Keith registers what they’re saying. _“Twenty two, twenty one…_ ” A countdown to midnight.

“Twenty seconds?” Frantically throwing the blanket off of them, Lance jumps up from the couch, pulling Keith along with him. “Let’s go!”

“What–?” He allows him to drag them both through the door, mostly because he’s too shocked to do anything else. It’s dark save for the dim streetlights, and snowflakes drift lazily through the air. They make their way to the driveway, where they have a clear view of the chanting partygoers as well as the hazy night sky. It’s a beautiful night, but Keith’s gaze, as always, is drawn to Lance.

The other boy is still holding onto his hand, looking back at him. “Keith?”

“Lance?”

“I wasn’t joking.” Lance speaks quickly as the countdown continues. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Starting off the new year with you, I mean.”

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

 

_Ten._

Lance is looking at him with that achingly earnest expression, their hands intertwined.

 

_Nine._

Keith squeezes his hand. He squeezes back.

 

_Eight._

A stray snowflake falls onto Keith’s eyelashes. He’s too busy looking at Lance to notice.

 

_Seven._

Lance wasn’t joking about the kiss. _He wasn’t joking._

 

_Six._

A firework is set off a few seconds too early, shooting into the air and bursting into bright colors that look all the more wonderful when they’re reflected in Lance’s eyes.

 

_Five._

_I want to kiss you._

 

_Four._

He must have said it out loud, because Lance wears a look of surprise that shifts into a soft smile.

 

_Three._

The noise from the party become distant, and their shaky breaths fill the night air with a mixture of hesitancy and anticipation.

 

_Two._

He can’t tell who leans in first, but Lance’s hands move to cup his face and he wraps his own around Lance’s waist, finally closing the gap.

 

_One._

They kiss with the sounds of fireworks and cheers surrounding them, and it feels like coming home. One year fades into another, marking the beginning of something unforgettable.

 

───── ⋆⋅❅⋅⋆ ─────

_One year later – December 31st_

 

Lance: keeeeeeith

Lance: hey

Lance: hey keith

 **Keith** : Yeah, babe?

Lance: i have to ask u something ITS REALLY IMPORTANT

 **Keith** : What is it?

Lance: will u be my new years kiss?!

 **Keith** : Hmmmm...

 **Keith** : I’ll have to think about it.

Lance: KEITH

 **Keith** : What :)

Lance: KEITH.

 **Keith** : Love you!

Lance: i love u tooooo

Lance: wait u still didnt answer my question

 **Keith** : Of course I will. Will you be mine?

Lance: thats how kissing works.

 **Keith** : Laaaaance. Will you?

Lance: always. 💙

 **Keith** : ❤️

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading and happy holidays!! please feel free to leave kudos/comments if you enjoyed it! <3
> 
> my twitter: waywardbaz


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